May 26, 2009

Is Sonia Sotomayor Catholic?

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor attended Roman Catholic schools in New York, but it’s unclear if she is still a practicing Catholic. If she is and her nomination is approved, she would be the sixth Catholic on the court.

Granted, that’s a lot of “ifs”. Not to mention, would it matter?

Cathleen Kaveny, law professor at the University of Notre Dame, said a sixth Catholic in the High Court would illustrate how entrenched the church has become in the U.S. A sixth Catholic with views like Sotomayor’s also would put the American church’s diversity on display.

“My guess is she’s very much operating in accordance with the commitments of the Catholic social justice tradition which is emphasizing … inclusion, solidarity, justice to those least among us,” Kaveny said. “It’s strand of American Catholic teaching that is somewhat distinct from other Catholic teaching but not incompatible. People emphasize different aspects.”

“‘Different gifts from the same spirit’ to quote St. Paul,” Kaveny added.

That doesn’t mean faith necessarily plays a role in decisions made on the bench, Kaveny said. A judge’s primary commitment to the court is interpreting the law.

Sotomayor expressed that same sentiment in a 1997 nomination hearing.

"I don't believe we should bend the Constitution under any circumstance," she said. "It says what it says. We should do honor to it."

Her potential comrade on the court Justice Antonin Scalia has said he would never base decisions on his faith. Other Catholic justices include Samuel Alito, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Chief Justice, John G. Roberts Jr. All but Kennedy are considered, for lack of a better term, conservative.

“It shows you that you can’t put Catholicism in the U.S. in a box,” Kaveny said.

At least one Catholic group expressed support for the nomination.

"We admire Judge Sotomayor's reputation of putting aside political beliefs in order to issue sound legal decisions, her commitment to religious liberty, and her significant federal judicial experience," said Chris Korzen, executive director of Catholics United. "These are precisely the qualities that Catholics look for in those we trust to interpret the law."

But William Donohue, president of the Catholic League, questioned the endurance of her Catholic upbringing.

"What’s going on? Are liberal Catholics Catholic? Obviously not, at least according to liberals. After all, if Sotomayor were known as a practicing Catholic, those who fretted over Roberts and Alito would have called 911 by now," said Donohue, drawing a distinction between being "raised Catholic" and being a faithful Catholic.

What do you think? If Sotomayor is Catholic, would it matter?

Posted at 10:21:15 AM

Comments

If she defines herself as Catholic in such a way that her Catholic faith comes before anything else in her life, then yes it matters. Otherwise, it doesn't matter whether she's Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist or Druid. So long as she can keep it out of the Court, she's welcome to it.

It would only matter if Sonia Sotomayor is painted as a faithful Catholic, only to find out she is pro-abortion, pro-women priestess, pro-homosexual "marriage", pro personal intrepretation of Church teaching.

It would offend Catholics, but not the majority of Americans, that President Obama would choose another dissident Catholic for his administration.

Religion may or may not matter, evident to anyone who has seen controversy over meaning and preferential selections from ancient texts and the four columns of definition of "free" in Shorter Oxford. Since we cannot know her heart, of more interest is her membership in various organizations and ideology of her close associates and spouse, if any. Of even more interest are the integrity and ideological sources of her endorsements and criticism.

Avoiding Jesus...
Dear Ms. Brachear:
While you have addressed Catholic teachings, you have not discussed the God of Sonia Sotomayor and her love and knowledge of Him. You should investigate how she perceives Jesus Christ and the teaching authority of His Church.

I believe,if approved, the new Justice will be as independent as possible regarding issues such as abortion and will not allow herself to be pressured by the Catholic hierarchy in making decisions. She will think creatively and her decisions will be fair and just. In other words, her faith will not get in the way of our Constitution and she will be very sensitive to the rights of minorities. She will conduct herself with self-reliance and freedom and bring to the Supreme Court, an exciting vision.

She as Catholic as President Obama. Chronologically speaking, one can not have rights afforded by our Constitution unless they are given the right to live in the first place. I understand the Bible speaks more of helping the poor, imprisoned, and downtrodden, but these souls can not receive social justice unless they are alive. God bless the President and those who are about to vote on this momentous appointment.

In my opinion, IF this lady is technically a Catholic, she has ruled in VERY un-Catholic ways.

Can someone PLEASE tell me why a so-called Hispanic is entitled to reverse discriminatory treatment? What entitles an Hispanic to reverse discrimination set-asides? What about Italian-Americans, Greek-Americans, etc.

This woman was given special treatment in her admissions to college and law school. Not only did she block out more qualified "Whites" and males, she alsoreceived very valuable scholarship money.

She is as white as George Bush. She was born in the USA to parenst who both were American citizens.

WHY should she get special treatment? WHEN will we stop classifying "Hispanic" as a special class, entitling these folks to special treatment and reverse discrimination?

I think you Americans are now bordering on stereotyping by your taking this lady's religion and making it an issue to deny her this appointment.

The agenda being rolled out is demonize Catholicism and other groups who have tried to retain their beliefs.What the media wants is for us to accept any changes however much it goes against the grain of our faith.

Sorry it if it means that I deny my faith then I would rather not have the job!

To Hymie - She was on the Yale law review and graduated with honors at Princeton. Law reviews are blind acceptance, and I doubt that Princeton put her on the easy track for honors. I don't think she got into either school because she was Hispanic, just at Clarence Thomas did not get into schools because of his color. She is clearly an amazing mind and has shown her intellect through her school achievement. While some people do benefit from affirmative action, I'd guess that Sonia Sotomayor was not one of them but instead had the grades to be there completely on her own with out policy help. The debate about affirmative action is a complex one and not worth having here, but don't degrade her nomination because she is Hispanic and you assume that she has only been successful because of government and school policies.

Oddly when i heard in passing without much info (just that obama had appointed a woman...) i thought hmmm this is the crucial vote against Roe...it sounds improbable? Let us not judge our judges until they have a chance to judge.
And lets not judge that sentence at all.

Of course it makes a difference if she's a Catholic, great question. From your intro description, sure sounds like she may at least fit the type, fridge Catholic, anyway.

As far as the abortion issues, just would mention that we all have a side or are undecided. Something more important to remember is, we may or will all have to answer to God, hmm?

As for the racism comments, I really pray this would just be put to rest across the board except in blatant cases. I've been a sociologist for 19 years and my professional opinion is that we all can fall into these type of raciest comments as a product of the past & society or even if only subconsciously or accidentally. And guess what, everyone is in some way to blame, so maybe best to stop the scapegoating & unforgiveness. None of which will help in the end to resolve the issue where it is at it's worst & worthy of confronting & helping.

Her Catholic heritage will obviously affect her reign very little, since she ignores the churches extremely clear stance on abortion. It seems that Catholicism is more of a hobby to her than a religion.